The invention relates generally to a steam appliance, and more particularly to a steam appliance including a water pump that is user actuated by movement of the appliance to pump water from a water reservoir to a boiler for generating steam.
Steaming devices used to apply steam to household objects are well known. The uses of the devices vary widely, and may include the application of steam to drapes or other fabrics to ease wrinkles, and the application of steam to objects to assist in cleaning the various objects and surfaces.
In general, nozzles used with the steam appliances do not have large surface areas and a cloth or fabric pad is placed over a steam frame to provide a steaming or cleaning surface. The fabric pad may have Velcro strips to secure to cleats on the nozzle. Alternatively, a fabric steam pocket may be placed around a flat frame with baffles in order to increase the cleaning surface area.
Recently steam appliances have been developed where water is pumped from a reservoir to a boiler by the push-pull movement of the appliance handle. This actuates a bellows pump or piston pump operatively connected directly to the handle. These features are shown and described in parent applications Ser. No. 11/496,143 and Ser. No. 11/769,525, the contents of which are incorporated here by reference in their entirety.
Notwithstanding the wide variety of steam appliances available remains desirable to provide additional steam products having improved ease of use and ways to pump water from the reservoir to the steam boiler.